Hesse

A German state yesterday became the first region in the country to ban Muslim women from wearing burkas.

The country has been gripped for several months by an angry debate on multiculturalism with many Germans voicing their concerns over immigration.

Hesse, a state run by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, has now became the first German region to ban Muslim face veils for public sector workers.

Hesse Interior Minister Boris Rheinsaid it was ‘not acceptable’ for a teacher in Frankfurt to wear a face veil because ‘public sector workers are obligated to have neutral religious and political views’.

The decision was prompted by a local teacher who had told her school she wanted to wear a burka in the classroom after returning from maternity leave. She had not previously worn one.

Debates about outlawing burkas have spread across Europe after France banned the Muslim face veils.